The Himalayan
Club, founded in 1928, is one of the
earliest clubs to have been established
in the sub-continent.
In the
pre-war years, every expedition to
the Himalaya and Karakoram was assisted
by the Club members - right from clearing
baggage from the docks, to assisting
them with advice, routes and purchase
of provisions and even selecting the
Sherpas and porters.
After
Everest (1953), the number of expeditions
increased in frequency. Nepal opened
its doors to foreigners, and in India
mountaineering caught on as a sport
inspiring the youth to aspire for
high adventure.
The
role of the Himalayan Club has modified
to an extent to keep pace with the
changing times. A plethora of climbing
clubs and trekking-cum-mountaineering
agencies have taken up their own localised
activities. The Club, therefore, continues
in its main mission by offering a
meeting ground for its members - talks,
slide-shows and films are organised
regularly; the Club offers scholarships
to the courses run by the three mountaineering
institutes in India, for needy students;
it has a fair stock of equipment which
it hires out to its members for a
nominal charge and its in house journals
every year the Himalayan Journal and
the Himalayan Club Newsletter. These
publications have now been recognised
as the foremost authority in climbing
in the Himalaya, Kararoram and the
Hindu Kush.
The
club enjoys a worldwide membership
with its presence in almost all the
countries, and has most of the famous
mountaineers amongst its members.
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